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<title>Take More Walks by Paganpunk2</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29960142">Take More Walks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paganpunk2/pseuds/Paganpunk2'>Paganpunk2</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Father Brown (2013)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First Kiss, Flash Fic, Lady F Likes To Watch, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Period-Typical Homophobia, Taunting, Walks In The Woods, late night walks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:49:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29960142</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paganpunk2/pseuds/Paganpunk2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sid lays a trap, Sullivan stumbles into it, and Lady Felicia secretly witnesses it all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sid Carter/Inspector Sullivan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Early Days, Flash Slash, More</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Take More Walks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t like Felicia to leave one of her own parties halfway through. As the hostess, that was the last thing she was supposed to do. But her guests were well enough lubricated with alcohol to circulate without her for a little while, and she’d been struck by a sudden and intense urge to go for a walk.</p><p>Monty’s study was a pointless space, since its owner was never here to use it, but it served a purpose tonight. Felicia slipped quietly inside and made her way to the French windows on the opposite wall. The lawn outside glowed with moonlight so romantic that it almost came off as staged. It would, she knew, have been dotted with arm-linked couples had there not been frost on the grass. Her hand hesitated on the latch. Perhaps she should cross back through the house for one of her furs, or send someone after one for her.</p><p>No; it would be too easy to be waylaid by a guest if she went herself, and the staff had their hands full with the hundred-odd people she’d invited over. She wouldn’t be long, and the cold would ensure that she returned before anyone noted her absence. Decision made, she let herself out into the night.</p><p>She had no particular destination in mind, and let her feet carry her towards one of the many narrow paths that meandered through the woods near the House. It was an odd direction for her to take, since she generally preferred open air and sunshine to the close shadows of the forest, but tonight she felt drawn to this knotty trail. There had better, she thought half-seriously as she stepped onto it, not be anyone waiting out here to kill her. It would be a double faux pas to not only abandon one’s evening guests but to then cause them to all be interviewed as potential murder suspects.</p><p>The air was really quite frigid, and after a couple of minutes she was ready to turn back. Just as she was about to do so, someone spoke from her left. “...What are you doing out here?”</p><p>Felicia’s eyes went wide. If she hadn’t recognized the voice as belonging to Inspector Sullivan, she might well have let out a scream. Fairly confident that he wasn’t out searching for prospective victims (unless he meant to startle them into a heart attack), and curious who he’d been addressing – because it was not, she realized immediately, her – she managed to stifle the sound.</p><p>“Bit of air.” Looking over, Felicia found that she could see straight into the little glade in which the two speakers stood. Sid had been gazing appreciatively upward at the night sky. Now he lowered his chin and turned towards Sullivan. “What're <em>you</em> doing? This isn’t a lawn party, y’know.”</p><p>“No,” Sullivan replied, “but it <em>is</em> a party you’re supposed to be working at.”</p><p>Eyebrows rose above a tiny grin. “And how’d you know that?”</p><p>“You’re dressed in a footman’s suit, Carter. And you’ve brought me three glasses of Champagne since I arrived.”</p><p>Sid’s grin widened into something closer to a smirk. “So the real answer is, you’ve been watching me.”</p><p>“Naturally. I wouldn’t want Lady Felicia’s silver to ‘accidentally’ vanish.”</p><p>Beyond the pearly light of the clearing, Felicia’s eyes narrowed. How <em>dare</em> Sullivan assume such a thing.  Sid would never steal from her.  Not without a good reason, at least.</p><p>But Sid was chuckling. “Nobs have their quirks, Inspector, but keeping the silver in the woods isn’t usually one of them.”</p><p>“Then why <em>are</em> you out here, in the cold, when you’re meant to be inside?”</p><p>Sid took a single step closer. “...What’s the cold got to do with it?” he asked, his tone knowing. “You worried I’ll get sick?”</p><p>For an instant Sullivan looked wrong-footed, but he recovered quickly. “No. I’m just looking forward to the quiet week I’ll have if your shirking does land you in bed.”</p><p>Another step, and Sid’s expression had turned foxlike. “Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Me in bed.”</p><p>“...You haven’t answered my question.”</p><p>“What, why I came out here?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s easy.” Another step, slow but certain, closed the gap between them to just a few feet. The small clouds of their breathing swelled towards one another, but never quite met. “...I came out here because I knew you’d follow me.”</p><p>Felicia’s jaw dropped as a wave of deep crimson broke across Sullivan’s face. Oh. <em>Oh.</em> Was that his secret, the reason he kept everyone locked out and looked so panicked when she or any other woman began to flirt? And Sid...well, Sid was up for anything. She’d never considered that he might like men as much as he did women, but it hardly came as a shock.</p><p>“Did...did you <em>want</em> me to follow you?”</p><p>“I dunno about following, but...the idea of you being behind me’s a pretty nice one.” A shiver, visible even from Felicia’s distance, ran through the Inspector. Sid’s teeth flashed. “Something wrong?” He reached out, bridging the distance to Sullivan’s tie and straightening it slightly. “You look flustered all of a sudden.”</p><p>“Carter...what you’re doing right now is incredibly dangerous. It could very easily be misinterpreted as an attempt to...woo...another man. The inevitable results of a successful attempt at that would be illegal.”</p><p>He was bluffing. She could see it now, could properly read all the narrowed looks and barbed comments that the Inspector had thrown Sid’s way since they’d first met. Despite all appearances, Sullivan didn’t dislike their Sidney at all; instead, he liked him too much.</p><p>And Sid knew it. “Ooh...inevitable. I like the sound of that. But I <em>don’t</em> like the sound of you addressing me like I’m just some bloke you’re vaguely acquainted with. So, unless you call me by my first name, I’m not gonna let you kiss me.”</p><p>This time it was Sullivan who stepped in. “What part of everything I just said,” he growled, “makes you think that I would ever <em>want</em> to kiss you?” Felicia bit her lip as the two men stared at each other, one stern, the other expectant. “...Sid?”</p><p>“There it is! Knew you could do it.”</p><p>“Oh, shut up,” Sullivan ordered, but Felicia caught a glimpse of the rare smile that curved his mouth upward just before it met Sid’s.</p><p>It was terribly rude of her to keep standing there and watching them...‘make out?’ Yes, that was the latest term, she believed. But it was extremely difficult to pull herself away. Neither of them were unattractive, after all, and they were clearly enjoying themselves. So she allowed herself to linger, just for a minute or two, while hands wandered and tiny groans sounded.</p><p>As Sullivan backed Sid against a tree, though, she registered the freezing air once more. She’d broken out in a sweat at some point, and now she was chilled to the bone. The men looked warm enough, she sighed as she turned her back reluctantly on what were now needy whimpers, but she might well end up with a cold from her little stroll.</p><p>Still, she’d have a pretty memory to keep her company if she <em>did</em> find herself confined to bed for a day or two. She would have to corner Sid later and reminded him to rinse those trousers out before he turned them in for laundering. And cold or none, she smiled secretly, she’d be sure to take walks during parties more often in the future, at least when Sullivan was on the guest list...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30423030">Inspector Sullivan and the Boyfriend</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/thorfacedotjpg/pseuds/thorfacedotjpg">thorfacedotjpg</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
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